Sunak is favorite for British Prime Minister post

According to British media, more than 178 Conservative MPs have now spoken out publicly in favor of the 42-year-old – that’s more than half of the group.

The Tory party is looking for new leadership after just under two months. Prime Minister Liz Truss is stepping down from office after six unprecedentedly chaotic weeks under pressure from her party. Her predecessor Boris Johnson soon talked about a comeback, but surprisingly withdrew on Sunday evening. Candidates can participate in the race until Monday afternoon (3pm CEST). Only those who have the support of at least 100 of the 357 Tory MPs are eligible.

Alongside Sunak, Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who will not admit his defeat, remains in the running. The BBC reported Monday morning, citing sources from Mordaunt’s campaign team, that the 49-year-old will certainly be in the grassroots if she gets the necessary support from 100 Tory MPs. According to her team, that threshold is “within reach”. However, according to various media outlets, only about 25 MPs have publicly spoken out in favor of Mordaunt.

Should Mordaunt actually gather the 100 supporters, the faction would vote between the two candidates first. If both finalists want to stay in the race after that, the party base would have the floor in a short online vote. The new prime minister should be announced by Friday at the latest. However, if Sunak gets the necessary support, he would already be prime minister on Monday afternoon. Sunak, the son of Indian immigrants, would become the first British leader with a minority ethnic background in Britain.

Home Secretary Grant Shapps, one of Sunak’s supporters, emphasized in a Sky News interview Monday morning that the favorite was relaxed but didn’t think he had the victory “in his pocket”. Sunak can present himself as a candidate who can unite the party. Over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Kemi Badenoch and ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman also supported him from the party’s right-wing margins. The 42-year-old takes advantage of the fact that in the last party leadership election he warned about the very financial chaos that Truss caused with her economic policies during her short term in office.

After Johnson’s surprise withdrawal, several prominent supporters of Operation “Bring Back Boris” have also moved to the Sunak camp. Secretary of State James Cleverly wrote on Twitter that Sunak had the most experience and could count on his support. Former Interior Minister Priti Patel and cabinet member Nadhim Zahawi also spoke out in favor of Sunak.

Johnson himself was beaten Sunday night after speculation of a comeback ran high over the weekend. “I would have a good chance of succeeding on the party base and could potentially be back in Downing Street on Friday,” the ex-prime minister wrote. He has the support of 102 MPs and can therefore submit an application. This number could not be verified by UK media. Significantly fewer supporters had spoken out for Johnson in public.

Still, he had come to the conclusion that this was not the right path, Johnson continued. “You can’t govern effectively if you don’t have a united party in parliament.” A Johnson comeback would have had the potential to plunge deeply divided Conservatives even deeper into chaos: several MPs had threatened to deny Johnson allegiance as prime minister or even leave the party if this happened. The scandal politician is still under investigation as to whether he lied to parliament in the ‘Partygate’ affair – what would be considered a political knockout criterion.

(SDA)